This Page is devoted to:
Ludwig Van Budgie-Bird
who came into my life in August 2001;
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He is elderly, born ~1997, but is
still sprightly & of light heart.
His
love of music is intense; especially Beethoven & Mozart.
By
nature, he is one of most gentle & kind souls I have
encountered.
&
the Cage-Climbers, who came into my life, Monday 17th December 2001, to wit:
:
Wolfgang Razorbeak
- The Dancing Budgie!
And Optimist!
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What may appear a frown, is the
result of his
upper beak being undershot. Any suggestion in the eyes
of energetic
& resolute deviousness is quite in character.
And
he is unusually cacophonous, even for a Budgie.
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&
Amadeus Bat-Budgie
- The Lettuce Shredder;
Hoverbudgie & Vakyrie!
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The appearance of cute innocence is
no true reflection of
her
character. She is one of the most determined individuals
that I have ever encountered. When she orders Wolfgang
to vacate a perch, he will in the end be forced to yield.
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If a Budgie saw a Budgie flying to a Fair, would a Budgie know a Budgie, other than He or She, were there ?? |
When Andy Shriekbeak died, I realised that Ludwig van Budgie-Bird would need Feathered Company. He had always had at least one other small Parrot close by him & it is well known that Budgies are prone to die shortly after a bird, with which they have kept company for some years, has died. Andy died mid-evening on Sunday, 16th December 2001. Then I wrote his Ode, and on only two and a half hours sleep, I had to go to work. - I start rather early! - After a full day's efforts, which proved astonishingly accurate considering my condition, I turned up at a pet shop in Neutral Bay, Four Legged Friends, & after short consideration in a near somnambulant condition, I chose two Baby Budgies for the now empty cage next to Ludwig! One was a grey, & at least at the time, quiet child. - He just sat on the perch, minding his own business. - How I was decieved by that one! The second was larger, and seemed the least bossy of the green-blue birds. - That proved to be an essentially accurate assessment!
The new Budgies were in a bad temper from their 10 minute journey from Four Legged Friends to my home, in the standard small cardboard box with breathing holes. Not being hand-raised, they have continued to be little drama queens, rapidly working into a panic if I put my hand in the cage, to change their water or top up their food. - And this happens daily! Eagles or hawks from the air, plus snakes from the ground, are the most dangerous predators for wild Budgerigars. The human hand is talon-like, while the attached arm is snake-like! - So there you go! Yet, I expect in time a relaxation. Ludwig now sits fairly calmly, if I show him I am just changing the water or food. However, if I am changing the cage floor lining, he gets nervous; while if also vacuum out loose detritus from the cage corners, then he does get into a flap, flying rapidly from cage end to cage end.
Wolfgang Razorbeak
Wolfgang is a small grey boy Budgie, with permanently tatty, feathers-sticking-out-at-all-angles plumage and a hair lip, who nonetheless has an attractive apearance, and an upright perching posture. He very early developed his dancing, especially to music, but he is liable to do it any time. - It is a bit like feline purring, since Wolfgang dances when he is happy or nervous. This dancing takes two forms. In the primary form, he runs sideways, right & left along the perch. In the secondary form, he climbs up and down the cage wall, wagging his head frenetically from side to side. Amadeus copies Wolfgang's dancing at times, but nowhere to the same degree.
The Razorbeak refers to Wolfgang having a much sharper beak than Amadeus. Personal experience!
Amadeus Bat-Budgie
Amadeus is a greenish-blue girl Budgie, with a confident gaze, but a curious habit of twisting her head to look at you instead of moving her body, and a perculiar hunched way of perching. She is the Bat-Budgie, as she showed almost immediately a preference for hanging upside from the roof of the cage for long periods. Often I have seen Ludwig & Wolfgang quietly perched in the normal manner, with Amadeus equally quietly perched, but upside down.
Lettuce shredding is another early response of Amadeus. Ludwig & Wolfgang happily nibble on a lettuce leaf, or lick the water off [nb. I always wash the leaf thoroughly, prior to giving it to them, & so it is covered with water droplets]. Amadeus, however, prefers to tear pieces off the leaf, dropping each on the floor; continuing thus until the lettuce becomes loose and falls to the floor.
In early January, Amadeus developed a new hobby: a variation on her frantic end to end cage flying. This is hovering. - Hence the "Hoverbudgie " tag. While she is no Hummingbird, she does keep remarkably steady.
Fighting
Very early on, as they share the one cage, Amadeus & Wolfgang began fighting for supremacy. The difficulty is that while Amadeus is bigger & stronger, Wolfgang is a better tactician. On one occasion, I saw Amadeus push Wolfgang off the perch with a solid & prolongued breast shove. Wolfgang dusted his ego off, then climbed up the cage wall, shaking his head from side to side [ie. dancing] and apparently all of innocence. Then in a trice, while his adversary was looking elsewhere, he suddenly struck with a staccato peck-peck-peck on Amadeus' head. So it was nearly all on for a brawl. However, Budgies do recognise human voice tone and if this two ever do come out with human words, I am sure it will be: "You and you! Stop fighting!" [nb. I never shout at them, and do not raise my voice much at all. The tone is the critical thing.].
Initially I thought that Amadeus was the instigator. Later I decided it was much of a muchness, since I noticed Wolfgang putting in little "air pecks" clearly aimed in Amadeus' direction. Sometimes he is rather unsubtle. Once I saw Wolfgang dance along the perch towards Amadeus, then give a pointed air peck; dance away; dance towards; air peck! - This was repeated rapidly about five times until I told him to stop it.
"They are hardy, agile,
lovable creatures" |
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| Three
Methods of Perching. From your left: The Ground Perch - Ludwig Van Budgie-Bird. The Vertical Perch - Wolfgang Razorbeak. The Horizontal Perch - Amadeus Bat-Budgie. |
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If a Budgie saw a Budgie flying to a Fair, would a Budgie know a Budgie, other than He or She, were there ?? |
©TONY SIMS, 2002 ad - Text, Formatting & Ego.
©HELEN HARMER, 2002 ad - Budgie Photographs.
Last revised: December 07, 2003.
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